Automatic railway-switch.



No. 675,0!0. Patented May 28, |901. C. F. LUTHER.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWITCH.

(Application filed Sept. 6, 1900.)

(No Modal.)

lINTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. LUTHER, OF PAVTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND.

AUTOMATIC RAI LWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFTIZGATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 675,010, dated May 28, 1901.

Application led September 6, 1900. Serial No. 29,15 7. (No model.)

To all wiwin it wea/,zj nmweuz:

Beit known that I, CHARLES F. LUTHER, a

' citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Pawtucket, county of Providence, and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Railway-Switches; and I do hereby declare the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same, to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to means for automatically throwing a railway-switch designed to be operated from the car.

"Phe device is especially adapted for use on electric street-railways to be operated by the motor-man at his will, and the construction of my improvement is suoli that it may be operated at any desired distance in advance of the switch. The mechanism I use to accomplish this is simple, strong, and durable, not easily gotten out of order, and certain in its operation.

In describing my invention in detail reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figu re 1 is a plan View of a railway-switch, showing my improvement applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on line xx, Fig. 1, showing a portion of a car with operating mechanism attached thereto; and Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View on line y y, Fig. 2.

As shown in the drawings, l representsthe main line of track, and 2 a track diverging from the main line. At the junction of these two lines is an ordinary pivoted switch-tongue 3, such as is commonly used on street-railways. From the under side of the switchtongue 3 projects a pin et, to which is connected one end of a connecting-rod 5. The other end of this connecting-rod 5 is connected to a rock-arm 6 on the rock-shaft 7,1ocated between the rails and Vextending substantially parallel therewith, said rock-shaft being mounted in bearings S, secured to the ties, as shown in Fig. 2. Secured to the rock-shaft 7 near its other end are the tappets 9 9, which are engaged by studs or rollers 10, projecting from one side of a rotary A wheel or disk 11. The faces of the tappets 9 9' are so shaped or inclinedthat the rollers 10 pass under the tappet 9 and over the tappet. 9', as shown in Fig. 3. On the other side of the disk 1l, which is mounted on a shaft l2 so as to turn in a vertical plane adjacent to and parallel with the rock-shaft 7, are formed at equal distances around the circumference near its periphery the projections or bosses 13, extending at right angles to the side of said disk. The disk 1l is somonnted that the projections 13 will be directly beneath a slot 14 in the road-bed. Preferably the walls 15 of the slot 14 diverge somewhat at the entrance end 16 of the slot, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to afford a guide for the pushbar in entering the slot.

A push-bar 17 is carried by the car and operated from the platform. The push-bar 17 is preferably supported in the truck-frame, so as not to be affected by the rocking ofthe car, and is shown as mounted to slide in guidearms 1S, projecting from a bracket 18, bolted' to the truck-frame of the car. The upper end of the push-bar is connected by the levers 19 and 2O and the connecting-link 21 to the lower end of the push-pin 22, projecting through the platform of the car within convenient reach of the motorman or other operator. A spiral spring 23, one end of which bears against a pin 2a on the push-bar and the other end against the guide-arm 18, acts to hold the push-bar in its raised position and to return it to such position when the pressure on the puslrpin 22 is released.

The mode of operation is'as follows: When the operator desires to move the switchtongue, he presses the push-pin 22 with his foot. This forces the pushbardownward into the slot 14 andinto a position where it will engage with one of the projections 13 on the disk 11. The forward movement of the car will thus turn the disk 11 and cause one of the rollers l0 to engage one of the tappets 9 or 9', thereby causing a partial rotation of the rock shaft 7, which operates to move the switchstongue, as hereinbefore described. As shown in the drawings, there are twice as many projections 13 as there are studs 10, there being six projections and three studs. W'ith this arrangement the engagement of the push-bar 17 with one of the projections 13 IOO will cause-one-ofthe studs lO to actnate the tappet 9 to move the switch in one direction and will leave said stud in position to engage the other tappet 9' at the next movement of the disk 1l, which said movement of the disk will be effected by the engagement of the push-bar with the next succeeding projection 13, which will result in moving the switch in the opposite direction. This last movement? of the disk will bring the next succeeding stud into position to engage the tappet 9 when the disk is next moved. Th us the switch is moved in either direction by the forward movement, of the disk, and the parts are always in posi-' tion to move the switch from whichever position it may be in. ,y

Should the spring 23 become inoperative orf; the motorman neglect to remove his foot from the foot-pin 22, the push-bar will engage thel inclined guideway 25 and be forced up into` its normal position.

What I claim as my invention, and desire; to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination with a switch-tongue, of a rock-shaft connected therewith, said rockshaft beingprovided with atappet, a disk provided with a stud adapted to engage said tappet and rock said shaft, said disk being arranged to be operated by a bar projecting from@ a passing car. i

- 2. The combination with a switch-tngue, of a rock-shaft connected therewith and pro-il videdfwith tappets,-and a disk provided with studs to engage said tappets and thereby rockl said shaft to operate the switch, said disk be- "ing arranged to be operated by a bar project-l ing from a passing car.

3. The combination with a switch-tongue,` Yof a rock-shaft connected therewith and proyvided with tappets, a disk provided on one@ side with studs, and on the other side with projections adapted to be engaged'by a bar projecting from a passing car.

4. The combination with a switch-tongue, of a rock-shaft connected therewith, said rockshaft being provided with two tappets, a disk provided with studs to engage said tappets, said tappets being so arranged that in one position of the switch one of said tappets will be engaged, and in the other position of the switch the other tappet will be engaged, whereby the rock-shaft will by the forward rotation of the disk be rocked and the switch moved in one direction or the other as may be desired, said disk being arranged to be operated by a bar projecting from a passing car.

5. The combination of a depending bar su pported by the car, mechanism to operate said bar, a vertical disk provided on one side with projections to be engaged by said bar and on the other side with studs, a rock-shaft arranged parallel with the track and provided with two tappets, a switch-tongue, and a connection between said rock-shaft and switchtongue.

6. The combination of adepending bar supported by the car, a vertical rotary disk provided on one side with projections adapted to be engaged by said bar, and on the other side with studs, adapted to actuate switchoperating mechanism. p

7. The combination ofadepending rod, supported by the oar, a vertical rotary disk provided on one side with projections adapted to be engaged by said bar, and provided on the opposite side with studs, and a rock-shaft provided with tappets, arranged to be engaged by said studs.

CHARLES F. LUTHER. Witnesses:

JAMES S. NEWELL, 'JAMES H. THURs'roN. 

